Pakistan Oil & Gas Development’s Profit Falls on Higher Expenses

Oil & Gas Development Co.,
Pakistan’s biggest energy explorer, reported a 4.7 percent
decline in third-quarter profit after the company spent more on
operations and exploration.

Net income fell to 26.4 billion rupees ($268 million), or
6.15 rupees a share, in the three months ended March 31 from
27.7 billion rupees, or 6.43 rupees, a year earlier, the
Islamabad-based company said in a filing today. Sales rose to
58.5 billion rupees, compared with 53.3 billion rupees a year
earlier.

The company spent 10 billion rupees on operations, compared
with 7.3 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier.
Exploration costs also climbed to 3.4 billion rupees from 843
million rupees, according to the statement.

Shares for Oil and Gas Development rose as much as 0.5
percent to 204.50 rupees and traded little changed as of 11:42
a.m. in Karachi. They’ve gained 5.7 percent this year, compared
with a 12 percent increase in the benchmark KSE 100 Index. The
company will pay an interim cash dividend of 1.75 rupees a
share.